With all the great sports we have in Marietta, we are in need of a sports editor for the site. If anyone would like to start covering Marietta sports for us on a regular basis, please contact me at advertising @ whitlockavenue.com - thanks!

Matthew

Oct. 31 – Deadline for the Keep Cobb Beautiful “Cobb Trees in the Community” fourth and fifth grade 3-D Art Contest. For entry forms or more information, visit KCB.CobbCountyGa.gov or call (770) 528-1135.

Nov. 1 – Deadline for adopting a senior for Cobb Senior Services “Senior Santa” program. $25 donation will provide transportation to a Senior Santa Christmas party with dinner, songs, decorations, games, a gift bag and a visit from Santa Claus. For more information, call (770) 528-5364 or visit http://seniors.cobbcountyga.gov.

Nov. 2 – An Evening With History – The Tuskegee Airmen: The Legacy of our Ancestors. Marietta Museum of History. 7 p.m. $5 or free for members. Members of the “Tuskegee Airmen” will tell stories of their time at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. Call (770) 528-0430 for information.

Nov. 2 – City of Kennesaw public participation forum on Comprehensive Plan. Open house, 2-6 p.m. Discussion of 20-year visioning plan from 7 – 9 p.m. Kennesaw Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive. For more information contact, Darryl Simmons, Planning and Zoning Administrator, at (770) 590-8268, or dsimmons@kennesaw-ga.gov.

Nov. 4-5 - The Georgia Ballet presents: “A Sleepy Hollow Story.” Cobb Civic Center. Marietta. Tickets range from $23-$31. Based on the classic American tale by Washington Irving. Visit www.georgiaballet.org or call (770) 528-0881 for more information.

Nov. 4 - 2006 Cobb/Cherokee Heart Walk. Benefiting the American Heart Association. Kennesaw State University campus. For more details, call (678) 224-2039.

Nov. 4 – 8th Georgia Regimental Band in Concert. The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History Kennesaw. Fun and educational concert featuring 19th century music. Concert begins at 7 pm. Admission: $8 (ages 4 & up) or free with museum membership. For more information, call (770) 427-2117.

Nov. 4-5 – Georgia Caged Bird Society Bird Show. Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Jim R. Miller Park. Sale of birds and all types of related items. Six show divisions judged by national society panel judges. Admission $4. For more information, call (706) 538-1095.

Nov.9 - Retired Military Association of North Georgia. Monthly meeting. 2 p.m. East Cobb Senior Center. For information, call (770) 971-2963

Nov. 15 – Public information open house on road improvements to Post Oak Tritt Road, from Murdock Road to the Fulton County line. Hosted by the Cobb County Department of Transportation. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Tritt Elementary School, 4435 Post Oak Tritt Road, Marietta.

Nov. 17-19 – Cobb Children’s Theatre – “Narnia”. Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Cobb Civic Center. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Adults $12; students $10. For more information, call (770) 427-4893.

Children from ages one to 12 are invited to enjoy the 6th annual Fall Festival of Fun, which will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Jim R. Miller Park, 2245 Callaway Road, in Marietta. Kids can participate in activities such as a costume contest, inflatable rides, arts and crafts, a coloring contest, puppet shows, games and hayrides. Prizes will be awarded for all contests. Be sure to bring a bag for candy. Admission is free. For more information, call (770) 528-8875. The event is sponsored by Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department; Safe Kids Cobb, Cobb County Public Safety, Cobb County 4-H and the WellStar Health System.

I was reading yesterday that 5 more homes were taken down on Griggs Street yesterday to help improve the area. I think it’s a great trend in the overall development that is happening in the city. Does anyone have any insight as to when and the exact details of the overall Johnny Walker home development?

It will be interesting to see how it plays out in the long run in the city of Marietta.

Hi Everyone! We hope you are getting settled into this cold weather we are starting to have around Marietta. We have been hard at work on a new site look and feel for you. We think the new design will be easier for you to read and easier for you to contribute your stories about Marietta. If you have something on your mind that you want to share, please register today and share your thoughts with our readers!

Let us know what you think of the new site!

Matthew

Special Thanks to the MDJ for this story!

MARIETTA - More Cobb students are taking advanced placement exams than ever before.

The number of Cobb students who took an AP exam rose from 5,513 in 2005 to 7,595 in 2006, a 38 percent increase.

Scores on exams range from the best, which is a 5, to the worst, which is a 1.

The number of exams where students scored a 3 or higher increased from 3,779 in 2005 to 4,885 in 2006, an increase of 29 percent. Students who earn a 3 or better are eligible to receive college credit for freshman-level courses at most universities and colleges.

Walton High School Principal Dr. Tom Higgins said when it comes to focusing on higher scores on the AP exam or enrolling more students in AP courses, the choice is simple.

“We’re more interested in the kids taking the class because we know it stretches them, and we know there’s a good bit of evidence out there,” he said. “A good bit of research says the more rigorous a curriculum a student takes in high school, the chances increase that they will finish college and finish in four years.”

Walton had the greatest number of students enroll in advanced placement courses last year with 1,805, an 18-percent increase over the previous school year of 1,527.

Higgins said even if students don’t score well on the exam, it’s still important that they take the course. He cited a number of examples where students who scored a “2″ on the exam went on to major in the subject because they were inspired in high school.

“We think it’s the way to prepare for college,” Higgins said.

McEachern High School Principal Rob Benson agrees.

“We’d rather have students take the test and challenge themselves than worry about the pass-rate percentage. It’s a validation for students,” Benson said. “If you don’t earn a three or better, it doesn’t mean you failed.”

It does mean a student will not earn college credit for the course, though.

Dr. Vicki Skywark, supervisor for the school district’s Advanced Learning Programs, said most universities accept a three or higher for college credit, but not all of them.

Harvard, she said, will not accept any AP courses for college credit, but that doesn’t mean students who want to attend there don’t have to take AP classes.

“You don’t have a ghost’s chance of getting in without AP classes,” Dr. Skywark said.

If a student wants his AP class to count for credit at Emory University, he needs to score at least a 4 or 5, said Emory undergraduate staffer Donna White.

The shift to having more students take AP classes has only occurred in the past few years, Dr. Skywark said.

“There used to be a lot of gatekeepers over the courses. There was a lingering perception among teachers - not every teacher - that AP class was for gifted students.”

Another fear was that teachers would be judged on how well students scored on the test, she said.

Cobb’s policy is now to encourage all students to take AP courses.

For the 2005-06 school year 7,595 Cobb students took an AP course.

The district’s average score is 2.99, higher than the state average of 2.78 and the global average of 2.90.

McEachern had the greatest increase in students who took an AP exam from 118 in 2005, to 254 students in 2006, representing a 115-percent increase.

Benson said the increase is, in part, a result of his push to encourage students who are capable of taking academically rigorous courses to do so.

With the campaign season upon us, the City of Marietta reminds citizens that signs must be placed on private property and cannot be placed in the public right-of-way. The right-of-way is generally the space between the street and utility poles. Signs in the right-of-way present a traffic distraction and are considered a hazard.

This includes campaign signs, for sale signs and temporary weekend signs. Signs are also prohibited on any public property or building and on any private property unless the owner of the property has given permission.

Temporary political campaign signage (including posters and advertise�ments) is limited to 32 square feet per sign area with no more than two sign faces — front and back — per road frontage. All signs must be removed within five days of the last day that the candidate’s name or that issue appears on a ballot for a primary, runoff, general or special election.

Any political signage that does not meet these requirements is required to have a sign permit and follow those restrictions set forth for that type of sign. It is also unlawful for any person to place campaign posters, signs, and advertisements on any property zoned for commercial or industrial uses if the placement of such campaign posters, signs, and advertisements conflicts with any zoning laws or ordinances.

For more information, call 770-794-5878.

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(Marietta, Ga. � October 10, 2006) The Cobb County Public Library System,in conjunction with �Marietta Reads!�, is launching �Let�s Read Cobb!� a program designed to bring the community together through the books they are reading.

The official kick-off event for �Let�s Read Cobb� will be at 7 p.m., Nov. 2 at the Cobb County Central Library, 266 Roswell Street, Marietta.

�Let�s Read Cobb� promotes reading for adults by encouraging participants to read the five spotlighted books and to discuss them either as individuals or as groups. The program is a spin-off of the successful �One Book Marietta� program sponsored by Marietta Reads for two years.

�Book discussion groups are an increasingly popular way for people to connect through the shared experience of reading. They find fellowship, conversation, and connections through the medium of books,� said Patricia Latch, Cobb County Public Library System Program Coordinator. �The �Let�s Read Cobb� program will help promote reading and explore ways people can participate in book discussions through public, private and online groups. The titles were chosen because they are so open to discussion and represent the best of classics, fiction, and non-fiction.�

The list includes: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Color of Water: A Black Man�s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride, 1776 by David McCullough, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

The kick-off event will be an opportunity for community members to learn more about book discussion groups and how the library can be of assistance to them. Discussion leaders will share tips and resources. People interested in sharing experiences and expertise and those interested in forming or joining groups are encouraged to attend.

The Cobb Library System will also help promote the program by:

� Posting discussion questions and �how to� help on setting up book groups;
� Supplying �further reads lists� for each book.
� Buying extra copies of these items in all available formats.
� Setting up a moderated book discussion blog.
� Spotlighting book discussion groups on TV23.
� Wrapping up the program in Spring 2007 with a giant celebration.
For more information on �Let�s Read Cobb,� call (770) 528-2342 or visit
www.cobbcat.org/letsreadcobb.htm.

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For immediate release:
David Layman
Robert Quigley
770-528-2485

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